Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Double Spoiler is progressing pretty well. Initially I was going to work more before making a post like this, but I just kinda started writing and ended up grading my score in every category. This should help show my progress and show which scores are more outstanding and which needs more work to be up to par. My score gradings are highly subjective. For example, 4-5 is so easy that just about anyone could learn to optimize it, so some people might disagree with my comparatively decent score ratings here. Meanwhile, some other scores that I graded lower than 4-5 might be extremely hard to beat if you just can't execute it. Keep in mind that difficulty levels among scenes vary greatly, so my score grades won't hold true for most players. Just to make it clear, I'm grading how good I think my own score is.
5/5: Among the best I've done
4/5: Among the better ones
3/5 Among the middle
2/5 Among the worse ones
1/5 Among my worst scores
Also, it might be a bit inaccurate, especially at 3 and under, since it's a bit hard to remember everything...

1-1:
4.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
Good scores. Aya run is better than the Hatate one. Both can be improved by a few 1000 realistically, but with Aya it is truly brutal to increase that much. Extreme precision optimization scene at this level.

1-5:
4/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
Kind of hard to avoid dying. Very RNG based scene. Pretty good scores, especially Aya. Hatate has a bit more room to improve, but still a long way to go to beat Fisty.

1-6:
1/5 Both
Dislike this scene, so I barely played it.

2-1
4/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
This scene is very difficult to do with Aya, but more of a subtle optimization with Hatate. I still want to go back and do even better with Aya, actually.

2-2
2/5 both
Easy luck scene.

2-3
4/5 both
Easy luck scene, but I grinded it out well.

2-4
1.5/5 both
Easy, but I've neglected it.

2-5
2/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
Pretty hard to do without dying. I never quite got the hang of this scene, I think. The Hatate score was surprisingly good, but I think with more familiarity on this scene it might be easy to beat, still.

2-6
3/5 Both
Pretty troublesome to read the bullets and optimize the pictures, but I can't remember exactly how good these scores are, they might be better than this. I wanna go back to improve.

3-1
2.5/ Aya
2/5 Hatate
I don't like the gameplay in this scene and you need really lucky boss movements.

3-2
1/5 Aya
2/5 Hatate
Taking good pictures from behind was hard, so I used an easier strategy... It seems hard to learn to score like t1100.

3-3
2.5/5 Both
A work in progress. Quite luck dependant. Execution isn't too bad, but still hard enough to be troublesome.

3-4
3.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
I think I'd like to go back and redo the Aya score. This scene is pretty interesting, and not too tough.

3-5
3.5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
A pretty luck based scene with some difficult timings. My scores were quite nice, maybe slightly better with Aya? but there is room to do better.

3-6
2.5/5 Both
It's a very luck based score grind, but pretty easy gameplay. I should go grind this out sometime, because the scores are just okay at best.

3-7
3/5 Both
An easy luck scene, not very interesting, I'm content with my decent scores.

3-8
5/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
The Aya score is one of my best. It might not look impressive, but it's an extremely lucky run. The Hatate score is good, too, but I spent most time on Aya. Not a big fan of this scene, so I'm not too keen on grinding Hatate the same amount as Aya, who I spent 30 hours on.

4-1
2/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
Seems like the optimization at the highest level is utterly extreme. I think my scores aren't bad, but they don't even come close to t1100...

4-2
3/5 both
One of the hardest scenes in the game, especially with Hatate. My score with her isn't even 2/3 as high as t1100. Unless I'm missing something, the randomness makes this scene nearly impossible to score that high. Probably the most confusing WRs in the game for me is here. I'd like to try to improve and see if I can learn something I don't know...

4-3
4/5 both
It's a very easy luck based scene, but still some of my better scores. Not much interest in playing this more.

4-4
3.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
Another easy luck based scene, but this one is a bit harder. Maybe my Hatate score is slightly better? I still wanna improve Aya a little.

4-5
3.5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
Yet another easy luck based scene. I think maybe this one is even a little easier than 4-3. Probably will grind out Aya some more.

4-6
2.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
I really neglected Aya in this scene, I'll probably fix that in the future. My Hatate score is really good apart from not figuring out some of the optimization room, so that makes it still slightly disappointing.

4-7
2/5 Both
This scene is very difficult, so I had a lot of trouble, even so, my scores are definitely not good here.

5-1
3/5 both
A really easy scene which is kind of luck based at a high level. Might try to improve here.

5-2
2/5 both
Kind of halfassed with both characters. Moderate difficulty

5-3
2.5/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
This is a really weird scene about hitboxes, subtle manipulations and multipliers. The Aya score didn't optimize well, so I'll probably redo it. The Hatate score was a beginners luck, it has a solid first half but a weaker second half.

5-4
5/5 both
One of the harder scenes in the game and hands down two of my absolute best scores. A nightmare of RNG, and crazy demanding, but I nailed both characters. Both scores can still realistically improve fairly significantly, I say. I foresee Aya to possibly reach 10 to 15 thousand higher if I grind this out for a month, and Hatate even 20 thousand higher in a month. I only spent a week on each, but the results are very satisfying.

5-5
4.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
Don't get me wrong, these scores are good and the scene is a difficult one, but I'm still not satisfied... especially not with Hatate, which has a very mistimed photo mixed in. There's quite a few weird things to learn on this scene.

5-6
4.5/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
A luck based scene with only a moderate dodging difficulty, but easy pictures. The Aya score is one of my better, with superb luck, but the Hatate score could grow more.

5-7
4/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
The Aya score is slightly luckier. For me, this is one of the easiest scenes, so it is simply a luck grind. It shouldn't be a huge trouble

5-8
x/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
The Aya score is a maxed score, which is very easy to do on this scene, and only this scene, since it has no randomness, no weird manipulations, and is so straight forward with a lenient timing and positioning. However, Hatate struggles much more. My score with her is pretty decent (I used sticker to help find the best pixel) but the gameplay is so tough for me, since it's all about finding the best pixel and doing some extreme camera movement precision.

6-1
2/5 Both
This scene is frustrating due to random forced deaths in most runs and lots of stalling. The pictures have weird timings that I couldn't quite nail yet.

6-2
4/5 Both
I'm satisfied with these scores, but maybe I'm overrating them slightly? I really didn't like this scene. Weird timings yet again

6-3
4.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
No RNG, all execution scene. Harder than it might seem. My Aya score was grinded out pretty well, although it could still grow. The Hatate run is still a little rough all in all and could grow a bit more than Aya.

6-4
4/5 Aya
2/5 Hatate
Hatate score was just thrown together and then abandoned, so I'm going to have to return. The Aya score is good, though. All in all, one of the hardest scenes in the game easily

6-5
3.5/5 Aya
2/5 Hatate
The Aya score is pretty good but still not entirely satisfying. It's not hard, but it is based on luck. Hatate tech is completely different, and this score is a filler score.

6-6
1/5 Aya
2.5/5 Hatate
The Hatate run is just a precise optimization, but the Aya run is actually really hard to do so I just gave up right away.

6-7
3/5 Both
LUCK. Stupid scene. There is plenty of room to get luckier

6-8
4.5/5 Both
Some of my better scores! A really subtle and hard to do optimization scene.

7-1
4.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
The Aya run is satisfying although I had to do a slightly worse picture style at the end. The Hatate run loses more points, but I'm not sure I'll return to this scene. It's pretty rough.

7-2
3.5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
Luck... Nazrin has to go to the top, and stay there. There is so much room for the score to grow here by getting even luckier with base value, and the execution isn't exactly free either, although I wouldn't call it hard, it's very possible to mess up and even get forced to die.

7-3
2/5 Both
WTF is with this scene? Shou aims randomly kills every run. Confused...

7-4
3.5/5 Both
Easy luck scene. I got lucky with Aya so fast, but with Hatate I grinded and grinded and grinded... and the luck I sought after never came. The scores are pretty good, but due to the time investment on Hatate, I'm not satisfied. The Aya run also has mistake in it.

7-5
1.5/5 Aya
1/5 Hatate
I really didn't like this scene so I moved on with shitty scores.

7-6
4/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
I used to be satisfied with the Hatate run, but after reassessing it, it's clear I should aim for at least 2 million. A very interesting scene in my opinion. The Aya score is also great but because I like this scene so much I'll probably return to it as well.

7-7
2.5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
Getting these scores wasn't that hard after "learning" the scene. However, I don't feel like I've fully learned it. The risk bonus is completely misunderstood.

8-1
3/5 Aya
2/5 Hatate
Kind of a hard scene, so I might have an excuse, but these scores aren't anything to write home about. At least the Aya one might be acceptable...

8-2
5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
The Aya score was a triumph for me. Hard scene, impossible difficulty without using something to show you which pixels to sit on (I make small pieces of sticker that I place on my screen on all the pixel spots)

8-3
4/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
There is plenty of room to grow with more characters, moreso Hatate. This scene is very subtle, but it's also precise, difficult, and even requires a decent amount of luck, although not too bad in that area. I'm interested in this scene, so I will return.

8-4
2/5 Both
STUPID luck scene. Fuck it! To elaborate, the luck doesn't even let you live almost ever. Then there's score luck, too. I will grind it out, though...

8-5
3/5 Aya
4.5/5 Hatate
The stalling is almost mindless, and most runs are doomed to lack the needed luck. Once you actually get a run going, which could take a long time before it happens, you're at its mercy. Not that hard.

8-6
4/5 both
Of course, another score luck scene with one easy strategy and one hard strategy. the catch is that the hard stratey only has a tiny potential improvement, and that due to luck the easy strategy can score higher. the hard strategy on the last shot is almost impossible due to how hard the random dodging in, so getting luck on all shots with the hard strategy is just one of those insane things to go for in DS, I haven't done that.

8-7
2/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
This scene is really hard, and I didn't play it that much, so as expected the scores are a bit lacking. At least I got lucky with Hatate once. Big potential on this one.

8-8
3/5 Both
It's not that easy to even figure out how this scene works, but beyond that my scores were the result of not that much effort, so they're just decent. Not hard, but subtle and luck based.

9-1
4.5/5 Both
An extremely hard scene which is partly memo and partly yolo. The last 3 photos are the hardest with both characters if you really wanna take this far. Both my scores are spotty, but the scene is just so hard that they're still some of my best runs. It's also one of my absolute favorites, so a return is very possible.

9-3
3.5/5 Both
This might appear to be a moderately hard scene, but really it should be counted as a very hard scene due to the non-apparent difficulty of making shots happen and making those calls. t1100's Hatate score proves that you can get a much more optimized run than mine. My Aya score could reasonably improve by at least 150 thousand, I would say, maybe even more.

9-4
3/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
It's hard to just learn the pattern, let alone follow it. Both my scores are very spotty, but at least the Hatate score follows the pattern a bit bettter. A really interesting scene and quite difficult.

9-6
3.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
I actually used to grind for these runs a lot, and it's a pretty rough scene especially due to the luck aspect of photos 5-8. The stalling is strong with this one, but despite that I'm a fan of this scene. BCF shows how it's done on this and on 9-4.

9-7
2.5/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
Stupidly hard scene. I don't think anyone can really purposefully avoid the bullets when optimizing the picture, so it's a matter of getting superb luck to just move through them. I've tried and tried, but I can't get anything great done here.

9-8
4/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
The Aya score is an older run, but one that was pretty great when I got it cause the last shot was so high and came out of nowhere. Unfortunately, one of the other shots was terrible, so the run is still flawed. I didn't spend quite as much time on Hatate and don't remember much about her style... but it was surprisingly troublesome. One thing that is highly subtle is shot timings. Medium difficulty scene.

10-1
4.5/5 Both
The Aya score is only dissatisfying because the luck simply didn't give in when I was grinding, so the end result was only a few 1000 higher than my previous PB. Now, the luckiest last shot I've had would have numerous times brought my PB above a million upon finishing. The saddest run was the best pace, where the luckiest photo would give me 1.015-1.020m, but instead I got horrible luck and ended up with around 990m. Hatate style is a bit different, but she's even harder. The score isn't totally optimized with her, whereas with Aya the score is more luck based.

10-2
3/5 Both
This was a kind of rough scene but I did let go a bit too early to get great runs here. Pretty fun.

10-3
4/5 Aya
5/5 Hatate
I dunno if the Hatate run really deserves 5/5, but I don't see myself improving it. Awesome luck and strong shots. There is still room for it to grow, because the scene is so ambiguous and based on luck. Quite a tough one.

10-4
3/5 Both
Just learning the strategy might appear impossible to some, but I thought it to be quite doable. Unfortunately, the optimization aspect was too much back when I made these scores, leaving me a bit unsatisfied. A flasy scene but not especially fun to me.

10-5
3/5 Both
My Hatate score is lower, but at the same time Hatate scoring on this scene is fucking brutal. The technique isn't as bad with Aya, though, so at a certain level it becomes more about luck.

10-6
4.5/5 Aya
5/5 Hatate
The Aya run is a bit spottier, but this is a high difficulty scene and it felt good to abuse it to this level. Especially breaking a million with Hatate! This scene is about difficult dodging, stalling, getting lucky and having a great sense of timing.

10-7
4/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
You need to get lucky with the shots, but there is also some underlying subtleties, and I never felt like I really got a grip of Hatate's style. I also find it harder to survive taking the shot with Hatate. This is a mean scene which forces to kill you quite often, but it is only moderately hard to do well with Aya.

10-8
3/5 Both
Nothing outstanding, I gave up pretty early due to really bad luck. I think you need amazing reaction speed to play this scene for score if you're not keen on just bruteforcing the high photos.

11-1
1/5 Both
Neglected scene. I used to play it just a bit when DS was still pretty new to me.

11-2
3/5 Both
I actually found a way to significantly increase a photo with Hatate, but it requires insane survival luck, so it's only adviced to do once on the first shot. This scene isn't that hard with pixel stickers, but it's luck based in a way that gets quite annoying, and the timing is easy to miss.

11-4
4/5 Both
Subtle, and a bit based on luck especially at the end, but my scores are pretty solid here.

11-5
4.5/5 Both
Ostensibly the Hatate run is slightly better, but I'm not so sure. Either way, two of my better scores. This scene is all about hammering in an exact series of actions and repeating that, since it is no RNG.

11-6
2.5/5 Aya
2/5 Hatate
A really boring stalling scene which also happens to be hard, in a way that is entirely unfun. I haven't gotten into this scene, but the scores can grow so much higher that I really want to return to it.

11-7
3.5/5 Both
Quite a boring and luck based stalling scene, but the shots are also somewhat interesting. Both scores were good, but there's room for growth.

11-8
4/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
It might be hard to learn to play this scene, so even though my scores are highly sub optimal, it's not easy to finish a good run.

12-1
3/5 Both
Subtle optimizations. Much room for growth.

12-2
3.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
This scene is pretty hard and luck based, but I did a good job with Hatate especially.

12-3
4.5/5 Aya
3.5/5 Hatate
The Hatate score is slightly luckier, I think, but Hatate doesn't have to dodge any bullets, so my Aya run is actually much tougher to beat. The score is based on luck with both characters, and there is plenty of room to get more of it.

12-4
4/5 Both
Aya is harder, so it's hard to really say one score is better than the other. It's a really difficult scene and luck plays a role to enable awesome photos, but execution is the hardest part.

12-5
3/5 Aya
2.5/5 Hatate
Precision scene with luck based shots. Problem is that I really lacked in the luck department, so the scores aren't that great. The Hatate run especially was just hastily thrown together after t1100 came up with a radical new strategy, so a return is in order.

12-6
4/5 Aya
4.5/5 Hatate
The score can still grow significantly, but it's a huge luck based scene, and pretty hard too. I spent especially time on Hatate aiming for 2 million but came short and gave up. Realistically the score can go up hundreds of thousands, you just need amazing luck.

12-7
3.5/5 Aya
4/5 Hatate
This scene is really hard for me, the shots are very specific and it's hard to deal with knife hitboxes and survive, too. The top 2 scores just gets absolutely unreal shots, so that's why I feel like my runs aren't that amazing in comparison. Still though, these scores should be hard to beat.

12-8
3.5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
t1100's Hatate score is a mystery to me. A long scene, not super hard from moment to moment, but due to its length it's hard to put an awesome run together.

EX-1
3/5 Both
Stalling, stalling, stalling... I really dislike this scene. Both scores can grow quite a bit, Aya loses small points here and there, and with Hatate I gave up on trying an optimal final photo.

EX-2
4/5 Both
A score luck scene with relatively lower difficulty, but still hard enough to mess up easily. I got solid luck with both chars but certainly you can get more. Small mistakes, too.

EX-3
2.5/5 Aya
3/5 Hatate
The Aya score is old and I think it wasn't very good... The Hatate score is also too low since I resigned because all the great paced runs died on the last shot. I dislike how Hatate has to handle the last shot, sometimes it just won't work.

EX-4
2/5 Both
Doing this scene my way might be hard for some. Still, these scores aren't good because I'm not optimizing them which is really tight. I dislike this scene because shots always randomly kill you.

EX-5
4/5 Aya
4.5/5 Hatate
I think I did well on this scene, but there was one awesome chance to get a brilliant run due to getting an extra familiar somehow... it only happened one time.

EX-6
4.5/5 Both
A luck based scene where the shots are actually pretty easy to take, the main difficulty is dodging in between. It might appear really brutal, but due to low optimization room, I would say this is one of the easier scenes in the game. I got fantastic luck with both girls.

EX-7
4/5 Both
Stalling, stalling... Reimu has only a 1 in 4 chance to give you the RNG to take a photo, so 75% of the time you have to wait a while to move on. Timeouts here are quite frustrating. When you get the right RNG, it requires a specific set of actions to take a good shot. I'm pretty satisfied

EX-8
1/5 Aya
2/5 Hatate
I didn't like this scene at all, so I just threw something together that would increase my overall score.

EX-9
1.5/5 Aya
1/5 Hatate
Optimization scene. It's been too long since I played it, and I spent too little time anyway (only 141 shots with Aya and 37 shots with Hatate)

SP-1
1.5/5
You only have to take one shot which is a subtle optimization. The catch is that if you want to place well on Royalflare scoreboard, you can't use CTRL to skip dialogue, which makes it such a chore to play...

SP-2
2.5/5
I wasn't such a fan of this scene, so I just got an OK run.

SP-3
1/5
Luck shit. Garbage run

SP-4
4/5
Quite luck based, and not that hard. I'm satisfied with this score.

SP-5
1.5/5
Like SP-1, you only take one picture, but this one has a little more optimization room.

SP-6
1.5/5
I hardly bothered with this, just didn't enjoy it.

SP-7
1.5/5
This scene wasn't that bad, but still, a pretty lame effort on my part.

SP-8
2/5
This score was okay maybe, but far from satisfying and I actually don't dislike this scene (yet).

SP-9
4.5/5
The room for luck on this scene is absolutely out of this world. Extra lasers and Aya's positions changes everything. I'd say it has the highest luck room in the game, with 10 shots and many variables changing score greatly on each shot. The execution isn't easy either, especially not if you play like I do and try real hard to scout for the best density shots. It gets fucking hard to just survive the last two shots, let alone scout for score RNG.

Furthermore, I'm still playing DS. It's just a bit sporadic, so sometimes I go weeks or even a month or more without playing. Other times I'll play 5+ hours a day. To see the replays, go to score.royalflare.net